[lenny broke]

evenin' all
I know this subject has been covered before but I'm planning to replace the wall warts on the old ninco with a power supply. Can somebody supply the specs for a suitable supply. I have seen a 0-30 volt supply in a local electrical shop. what are the ideal amps for my track.
I need to know this so I can go in and give the pizza faced youth behind the counter the impression I know what I am on about and he won't treat me like a complete gimp. ( he's a smug little git with an air of superiority if he thinks he's got the wood on you

)
Cheers lenny

 

[thomas]

2 independant power supplies, 0-20V, 0-3A will be suitable for most 1/32 cars you can run on a Track - -even for flexis.... 2 Amps are enough for home tracks if you'r running some hot cars, 1 to 1.5Amps are adequate per lane for standard RTR's. But take care that the power supplies are short-circuit-proof!
It's all just a question of price at the end...

 

[Tropi]

A quick search through the forum came up with THIS
I don't think anyone needs 30 volts!

 

[Fergy]

QUOTE I don't think anyone needs 30 volts!

True.... for some though, 240 (or more) would be appropriate....

Seriously, I like 2-3 amps per lane, on a variable voltage supply that can output at least 15, and preferably 18-20 volts. There will be enough "headroom" that the supply won't be taxed and enough current capacity that surging will never occur. (You need even more amps than that if you plan to run 16Ds or similar, but most of us can live with the numbers above). The benefits of an adjustable supply with a high-current output are endless. And you will only need to buy one good one in your lifetime. Mine is happily churning out 0-24V, 6 amps per lane, after nearly 25 years of use. Spend the money.... buy good power!

 

[Tropi]

Many people suggest multiple power supply units, to spread the load.
Sounds good, but there is still a snag.
Production variations permit the possibility of the 'matched' PSU's actually not being quite the same, thus still allowing variable performance on different lanes. Both voltage and amperage could be inconsistent from one to the other.
This is why I prefer a single PSU with enough amps to do the job for all lanes.
If it shoves out (say) 13 volts, then you KNOW that all cars are getting the same voltage or, if they are not, it isn't the fault of the power supply but something else. A single, good PSU eliminates that possible variable.

 

[Fergy]

Well, mine IS one PSU. It just happens to have 4 independently adjustable outputs - all metered from the same meter. So it's easy to get every lane identical, easy to set one or more lanes for young kids, and also easy to make tiny variations to balance the lanes.

 

[Tropi]

Yours sounds like a super deluxe model, Fergy!
As has been said before, good PSUs seem to be far and away better value in North America.
What are you using and is it still made?

 

[jonny s]

Ours is one too. Goes from 12v to 31v and delivers same power to all six lanes. A meter at race controls indicates the power being supplied and each lane is individualy protected cos of shorting controllers or loose screws or bottoming magnets! I can switch each lane on/off individualy. `Gary the Gadget` built it for us after some great advice from Fergy

 

[lenny broke]

G'day
Thanks for the replies, all
I should have said it was a variable supply required. The Wife's grand kiddies have noticed that Grandfer Lenny has a track at home and want to have a go.
So adjustable power is a major consideration for the welfare of my cars.
cheers lenny

 

[DE38]

Ive been running the TracKmate 0-30 volt 10 amp variable for a couple years now and its the single greatest upgrade I ever made, granted Ill prbably never use 30 volts , had it up to 21 once but its like a street car with 500 hp, you may never use all the power but its nice to know its there.

DE38

 

[Russell Sheldon]

I've got top BSCRA/ISRA racer Brian Saunders (Mr BSlotcar Performance) visiting me in a few days time. Brian's bring one of these along:-

240V input and adjustable 0-15V output with up to 12 Amps. Digital readout for current Voltage / Amp reading and Amp limit setting. Features Voltage and Amp limitation for perfect break in of motors. Ideal for all types of motors and tyre truer, comm lathes etc. Unit weights only 820g making it very portable. £110.

Kind regards

Russell

 

[Tropi]

In addition to the PSU, that is also an excellent link for much other interesting material - thanks, Russell.

 

[bastumannen]

Nice equippment you guys all seem to have

. I'm still only using two standard powerpacks for my 4-lane track and it's really suffering under the heavy loads from faster cars. I'd like to take a bit of a stingy route here though, if possible. I thought why not use the power supply unit that come in normal home computers, they have about 8 amps at 12 volt, and they are very cheap! You could even pick up second hand ones for free too, as people upgrade their cpu stuff constantly. I just wonder if anyone has tried this before and know of any problems regarding the operation? I assume it's DC and not AC that is put out of those units, otherwise it's naturally right out

. Anyone with experience in the field?

Now I don't want to hijack this thread, but I just thought it was silly to start a new thread when it was all in the same field. I'll probably get a proper variable output PSU later on when I can justify spending the money. I just thought this could be a quick, cheap and easy fix for people with need for more power.

Toby

 

[Tropi]

It doesn't even faintly resemble a thread hi-jack, Toby!
It's spot on topic.

Quite a lot of people have done this successfully.
PC PSUs ARE incredibly cheap, as little as £10 or, as pointed out, totally free!
But there are one or two snags associated with them closing down in 'NO LOAD' situations.
Hopefully some first-hand experience will be posted.

 

[Fergy]

QUOTE What are you using and is it still made?

Did I forget to mention that I made it?

I got tired of dinking about with car batteries, and back in 1981 the only suitable supplies I could get my hands on were the price of a cheap car!

When I photo the Matra (hopefully later today!) I'll try to remember to snap a couple of pics of the supply too. Did I mention that it's really huge?

 

[fouldsc]

QUOTE (Tropi @ 17 Oct 2004, 14:34)It doesn't even faintly resemble a thread hi-jack, Toby!
It's spot on topic.

Quite a lot of people have done this successfully.
PC PSUs ARE incredibly cheap, as little as £10 or, as pointed out, totally free!
But there are one or two snags associated with them closing down in 'NO LOAD' situations.
Hopefully some first-hand experience will be posted.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My local club runs off a PC power supply , not sure what mod's/wiring was required - I am going wednesday and will try to get some plans/designs out of them.

 

[slotsutra]

A variable regulated (stabilized) power supply capable of 6-15V DC 2Amps is all you need. But if you want to make power to the 2 lanes different , a PSU with 2 separate outputs makes sense. Make shore it is short circuit protected. Good regulation and good filtering (small ac voltage on the output) is most important, not the max current. Good regulation means: the voltage does not change even when the load changes from zero to maximum (what happens all the time during racing).
This is for normal motors , if you use very special racemotors or have 4 or more lanes, more current may be needed. Power supplies capable of delivering 6,10 and more amps are not necessary and may even be dangerous : imagine the rare situation where the track is short circuited while a child keeps the regulator almost full pressed: a very large current may flow trough your regulator and overheat it. Or a car is blocked on the track and the child keeps the regulator fully pressed : the max (stall) current will flow trough your car's motor for some time and overheat it..
Never use a car battery for your track without proper fusing : your track may become a welding machine if you make short circuit since these batteries can deliver a few hundred amps !

A standard slotcar motor never uses more than a few hundred milli amps. The highest possible current that can flow is when you supply power and prevent the motor from turning, a fast method for warming up the motor and burn it if you do it too long.

 

[Fergy]

As an adjunct to the above, invest the time and pennies to make sure each lane is fused separately, as well as the power supply itself. For example, my supply has four outputs capable of 6 amps each. I have them fused at 5 amps with a fast blow fuse. This protects the power supply and nearby wiring from extreme overloads. I have each lane they power (only 2 now, but previously four) fused at 2-3 amps with a slow blow fuse. The slow-blow fuse ignores the momentary shorts that slot cars often cause, but reacts very quickly to dead shorts. If a lane fuse blows, I know where to look, as the master fuse will not likely have blown yet. Fuses are cheap. Use them.

 

[jonny s]

That`s exactly what we have done at Phoenix and it works great. If someone has a controller or car that causes a short their lane fuse blows and the others are unaffected. This is fairer but more importantly means I know from looking at my panel exactly where the fault is and can get it sorted quickly.

I think that with club racers tuning cars to get the most out of a mag car, normaly by lowering the rear, a surprising number of shorts do occur. it`s a sound investment for any club as suggested/recomended by Fergy.

 

[Fergy]

QUOTE I think that with club racers tuning cars to get the most out of a mag car, normaly by lowering the rear....

Would people actually do that?